Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1887-04-07

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walk out as if he had an important en-
gagement to keep.
The reporter followed in his wake
one morning when he made II bee-line
for an Office entry "a few doors of, where
a stoutish, roughly-dressed young fell
low was in waiting with Ia canvas sack.
Here the collector unloaded, when the
pair departed for fresh fields, the
sack-bearer a few PAGES behind the
other
The reporter struck up an acquaint-
ance with this collector, and finally got
the following account of the firm and
its operations:
"Well," the collector commenced,
al don't mind telling you what we do
and how we started it. We make an
honest living, such as it is, and we
only took to it to tide us over till some-
thing better turned up. Bill and I are
both from England, and have only been
in America eight months We came
over in the same ship. We got ac-
quainted and came on to Chicago from
New York together When we arrived
here l had about f110, and he had per-
haps "a or f5 in his pocket. We took
a room on State street and both tried
for Job. | was an architects clerk
at home, and he was what they call in
England a light porter l always
thought that in America there was
work for every body, but soon found
out my mistake. We tried for weeks
and couldn't get job. Finally l was
laid on my back with serious attack
of gastric fever Bill stuck to me like
brick. After the money was gone he
had to sell my clothes and his own to
keep us going till got well.
"When got on my feet again we had
thirty-fve cents between us and
nothing left to make raise on. We
started out, and went to the firms |
had applied to before to see if there
was an opening We Travelled around
all day, but it was no go. About five
o'clock / called on dry-goods COM
mission man on Monroe street, where
/ had been before. He lent me two
dollars, and, pointing to pile of old
newspapers in a corner, said could
! have them if | would take them away,
and perhaps could sell them for a few
cents. l called Bill in, and we made
, two bundles and shouldered them. We
J sold them to laundry for fifty-four
, cents. That night an idea struck me.
l bethought myself of the large guam
tity of newspapers lying around the
hotels and other places in the city, and
, | wondered if we could scratch living
out of collecting and selling these until
things mended. We got sack next
} morning and started in, and we have
been at it ever since.
"At first it was tight pinch. Twas
weak and ashamed, and we only made
J little. Now we make enough to pay
two dollars a week for a room, get
three cheap meals day, and buy a
paper of tobacco occasionally. The
worst of it is our clothes are wearing
: out"
"Where do you make your collec
: tions?"
principally at the hotels, railway
t stations and billiard-rooms. We occa-
sionally get permission from the gate
5 keepers at the depots to go through an
| incoming train and get a half sackful
at time. The janitors of some of the
Office buildings also allow us to take
their waste, though most of them col
: lect and sell it themselves
l "Where do you sell your stutf?''
"At the Chinese laundries, meat
5 markets, small notion and grocery
stores, and to small business people of
I all kinds"
"How is it you can get away with so
: many papers without your pockets
! bulging outP"
81 soon got on to that" was the re-
: ply; "look at my overcoat," he said, as
t he opened it and displayed two large,
8 wide pockets of the shop-lifting order,
81 can stow away from two to three
pounds without showing it much. "
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